


To Catch a Fallen Star

by Silmarwen



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons and Angels and Humans, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Found Family, M/M, Minor Body Horror, POV Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Sex scene in last chapter, Tender thigh fucking, Travelling together, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:00:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29764830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silmarwen/pseuds/Silmarwen
Summary: Whenever an angel falls from above, ash rains down to signal their descent. For the demons below, it’s said eating a fallen angel’s heart grants immeasurable power. For the humans, immortality. That is what leads Dimitri to the broken building he finds Claude unconscious in.By a stroke of fate, Dimitri decides to spare the fallen angel, saving his life. What he never expects is how this one choice would affect his journey for revenge.Part of the Dimiclaude BigBang 2020 project.
Relationships: Claude von Riegan & Lysithea von Ordelia & Dorothea Arnault, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan, Dorothea Arnault/Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 54
Collections: Dimiclaude Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my Dimiclaude BigBang piece, I hope everyone enjoys it. I'm posting the first chapter tonight, and the second tomorrow. After that, it will be updating every Sunday.
> 
> I'd like to thank both of my artists, [Brokokoa](https://twitter.com/Brokokoa) and [Arslan](https://twitter.com/wavervorer) for working together with me during this project.
> 
> I'll be providing content warnings at the beginning of every chapter for anything specific to that chapter.
> 
> cw: minor body horror for broken wings, minor warning for Dimitri eating a dead rabbit at the beginning

Branches rustle in the thick, dense brush of a forest deep in the far north-west of Faerghus as a buck makes his way through the foliage, his small fawn following close behind as the morning sunlight phases through his antlers. He’s alert of another presence nearby, maintaining a cautious distance between them. Until he moves or gives him reason to feel threatened, he’s deemed him harmless but keeps a watchful ear in his direction.

Dimitri lets out a small huff, watching the buck continue moving about with his sole right eye, scar tissue sealing his left eye shut years ago. It’s early morning and he’s still in the process of waking up after a restless night of sleep in the little den he built to shelter him last night. The buck does remind him of the rabbit he caught an hour ago. Grabbing the bundle of dead fur and flesh, he sinks his sharp teeth into. There’s a tearing sound as he rips a bite-size piece off the carcase, using his teeth to remove skin and fur. The small bones are barely an issue for him, so he swallows them with the meat instead of going through the extra work to remove them. The blood is rich and tasteless, though he already knows later on he’ll need to hunt again to replenish his energy.

The buck is staring at him again. Finishing his current mouthful, he snarls back and the buck bolts with his fawn. That is for the better, learning to fear demons and humans, they’ll live a longer life following that rule.

Maybe this interaction would have been different years ago, when Dimitri was known for being a kind young demon, growing up in Fhirdiad with his family, one of the strongest demon families in the city and even the entire Faerghus region. While growing up among humans and demons, he was also blessed with the crest of Blaiddyd, giving him immense strength even as a small child.

And then thirty years ago his family and some of their closest friends were all mercilessly murdered save for him in a vicious attack. For a long time he believed it was retribution for being born with a crest. It wasn’t until five years ago when he spoke to a crest researcher that convinced him it was not linked to his crest, due to their unpredictable nature in who ends up born with one. Therefore there was no reason it would be the reason for the attack. And even if it was over his crest, why was he the only one left alive? If that were the reason, they would have only needed to kill him.

Then he learned about the Flame Emperor, a strong demon bearing two crests. After his first encounter with them, he recognized their mask; they were there when his family was massacred. It was during his second encounter with them that their mask shattered, revealing their true identity as Edelgard, a demon he had met around the same time who he believed to have been a friend. The moment he saw her wearing that broken mask, he swore to hunt her down to rip her head from her shoulders as revenge for what she did to his family.

His determination to get vengeance led to him parting ways with his childhood friends, realizing they were holding him back with their unnecessary concerns. Since that moment five years ago, he’s been travelling alone, isolated from people as he put all his focus into tracking down Edelgard. The only people now worthy of his time are anyone who can offer him information or supplies.

Scaring away deer is the most kindness he’s able to give anyone now. The only thing worth his energy is getting revenge for his dead family. With that thought he finishes the last of his rabbit, clearing it down with a large gulp of what’s left of his water. He’ll have to refill the container in the nearby river before he continues on his hunt.

With a grunt he stands, stretching his limbs to limber up. His tail flicks back and forth, slim and pale blue with a darker blue tuft on the tip, fur course to the touch. Moving to the river, after refilling his flask he washes away some small patches of muck off the pitch black scales covering his arms and legs, a refreshing final wake-up as he sharpens his claws against a large stone by the river bed. Strong and sturdy, his scales are like armour, impenetrable in combat and ideal for ripping his enemies apart. Splashing water in his face, his large horns curve over the back of his skull before turning upward, a dark sheen where the sunlight peeking through the trees reflects off them as his blond hair lay haphazardly over his head, reaching down to his shoulders.

Upon returning to his den, he packs his supplies, adjusting his brown tunic and leather vest to remove any twigs and leaves that got stuck through the night. It lacks any real form of defensive during combat but allows him to be more agile and travel quickly. His crest more than makes up for this when with the amount of strength it gives him. Throwing his bag over his shoulder, he ignores taking apart the den and sets off.

* * *

As the day progresses he makes his way through the dense forest following his current lead on Edelgard, a rumor that she was spotted nearby. Unfortunately it ends up being another dead end when he finds the spot. A full week of travel wasted and the closest village is days away. Any homes in this forest are now deserted after bandits ran amok in this area over fifty years ago, and nobody put in the effort to come back given the remote nature of the area after all these years.

The sun is setting as he finds a clearing among the trees, twilight blanketing the area in a dim glow. Cursing, he lashes out at a tree, slashing it in half to release the rage building up over the amount of time he just wasted chasing nothing. He’s ready to uproot another tree when something flutters briefly in his line of sight.

A small speck of something, smelling of soot and grey in color slowly tumbles to the ground. Dimitri starts bending down for a closer look but another falling piece catches his attention. Glancing to the sky, he can make out more, falling down like snow. Holding his hand out, he watches as a few pieces fall upon his open palm. They don’t disappear like snow and the sooty smell makes it easy for him to put together what it is. Ash. A menacing grin forms on his face as it dawns on him what this falling ash means.

Ash raining from the sky is a well known omen. It means an angel has fallen from the realm above, kicked out to never return. Unlike humans and demons that have co-existed for ages in Fódlan, angels are a mysterious race who lives high in the sky in their own separate realm above the clouds. There are various names for that place, from the more commonly known name of heaven to its lesser known name of Zanado. There are many rumors about angels, like that they view themselves better than everyone else and many times in history it’s hinted that they’ve meddled in wars to entertain themselves. In the past some humans have gone as far as to foolishly call them gods and built temples for them. But that’s something that fell out of practice centuries ago. Mostly everyone now only sees angels as a race who keeps to themselves.

What matters to Dimitri at this moment though is what he knows about angels who fall down to Fódlan. It’s said eating the heart of a fallen angel, kicked out of heaven and forbidden from returning, grants demons with incredible power and near immortality to humans. There’s always a mad race to find the angel when ash starts falling from the sky to announce their descent. And out here in this dense forest away from anyone, Dimitri will be the one to find this angel first. Eating their heart will grant him the power to defeat Edelgard.

Baring his sharp teeth in a grin, he stares up in the sky to take in the direction the ashes are falling from, able to spot a faint light in the distant sky falling to the earth below. Now knowing where to head, he takes off with a maniacal laugh. This trip is now no longer a waste of time.

* * *

Racing through the thick foliage, Dimitri uses his keen instincts to move nimbly as he keeps his eye on the falling glow of the angle in the distance. He doesn’t even need to look down as he jumps over fallen logs and weaves through the crowded trees. In his growing excitement he runs his claws over trees as he passes through, a display of his strength as he marks the area.

Judging from the power he can sense coming off the angel, they must be strong, but their light is fading and as the trees start to thin Dimitri hears a distant crash. Wherever the angel landed it was not among the trees. The more the trees give way to bushes and tall grass, the more it becomes apparent to Dimitri that he’s now in the location of one of those old homes. The slight smell of rotting wood and decaying furniture among the forest scent gets stronger as he slows his pace to a brisk walk.

With ash falling thick around the overgrown stony pathway, Dimitri walks cautiously to the abandoned home, eyeing the remains of a small barn nearby barely standing. From the wear of the structure, his best guess is it’s an old human farm deserted from that bandit attack years ago. Discarded tools litter the ground, grass and flowers overgrown as far as he can see.

The smell of earth and wilderness reclaiming the place hangs heavy around him, nature taking back what once was its. There’s a thin layer of ash covering everything now, the sooty smell merging with that of the forest and abandoned home. Dimitri grabs a wooden pillar, scrunching his nose at how it snaps easily and crumbles without him applying any real force. The angel’s energy indicates they’re inside, weak now after crashing through the roof.

Dimitri takes in the surrounding area, checking if he can smell or hear anyone approaching in the distance. Once he’s sure no one will suddenly interrupt his meal, he opens the creaking door, flicking his tongue in a sound of annoyance when it comes off its hinges and falls to the ground with a thud as he walks inside.

The first thing that hits Dimitri once he’s inside is the smell of dust and soot, stronger now as the inside exudes a smell of long abandoned decay. Old paintings and heirlooms litter the counters, faded as Dimitri makes his way closer to the angel’s subdued energy.

Broken planks litter the sitting room as Dimitri steps inside through the doorway. Dust and ash hang unnaturally in the room, almost as if stopped in time by the angel’s energy. A large mound of rubble buries them from view in the middle of the room below a hole in the roof. The only sign of their presence outside of their energy and the soot are ash covered feathers littering the floor and the weak glow peeking through the rubble.

Frowning, Dimitri curls his nose as he approaches the pile of rotting timbre. He’s not sure if he needs to consume the angel’s heart while they’re still alive or not so he’ll be screwed if they died from the impact. With this in mind, Dimitri starts to gently lift the broken beams to check if they’ve survived the fall.

He digs for what feels like a few minutes before he catches a glimpse of a limp wing, twisted at a painful angle. He grunts and continues to dig, unearthing the angel from his tomb of broken wood and covered in soot.

Unconscious but alive, Dimitri takes a brief moment to check his injuries. Blossoming bruises and spots of semi-dried blood litter his brown skin that’s starting to take on a more pallor hue due to blood loss as he lies limply on rotten floorboards. Soot and dust have dyed his cotton tunic and pants into an ashen grey from their original white. His wings have also taken on a gray shade alongside the red dye of his own blood as they stick out at awkward angles, bent and broken as the angel’s golden glow weakens to a barely visible light.

He’s breathing weakly, injured but still alive. Dimitri feels a little spark of glee rush over him at having such an easy job to help him gain power before him. He reaches down and tilts the angel’s chin to look at his halo, a golden ring of metal-like bone embedded in his neck. The angel doesn’t react to his touch as he continues to inspect him. Dust and soot covers messy brown hair and the trimmed beard running along his jaw.

Dimitri stands back upright, flexing his claws, anticipation sending a shiver down his spine over the power he’ll receive when he kills him. He kneels down and places his hand over the angel’s chest where his weakly beating heart is contained. Licking his lips, Dimitri wonders what his heart will taste like.

The floorboard creaks behind him and he quickly pivots around, ready to attack whoever dares intrude on his meal. Standing in the doorway, staring at him is the buck from earlier, his fawn tucked underneath him as he stares Dimitri down. He freezes at the accusation in the animal’s eyes, glancing to the fawn as she slowly walks closer, sniffing at the angel’s broken wings.

Eye locked with the father, something sparks an ancient memory from the recesses of his mind.

**_Lambert laughed while a much younger Dimitri gently held an injured sparrow in his hands, close to his chest. “You are aware that even if you nurse that little bird back to health, there’s no guarantee it will survive for long after you release it.”_ **

**_Dimitri frowned at his father, holding the defenceless bird closer. “I can at least give them a chance to survive and live a longer life. It’s unfair to those who cannot fend for themselves to be ignored and preyed upon by others when they most need help.”_ **

**_“Do you intend to defend the weak then?”_ **

**_“Yes Father!” Dimitri smiled up at his father as he ruffled his hair._ **

**_Lambert looks down at Dimitri fondly. “That is a noble goal. I’m proud of you, Dimitri.”_ **

Dimitri lets out a low snarl at the buck. “Don’t give me that look.” He hisses, barring his claws, catching the fawn’s attention, her ears standing upright. “That dream died long ago.” The buck doesn’t flinch from his words, and his strong front makes him feel like shrinking away, like a scolded child.

The fawn sniffs at his leg and he’s tempted to push her away. “I will have vengeance for my family and this angel’s heart will help me achieve it!” _A beast is suited for revenge. I lost my right to defend others long ago._ His thoughts are slowly spiralling when he feels a touch on his fingers, staring at the brave fawn that licks him a few times before turning her attention back to the angel.

The angel is just as defenceless as that little sparrow from back then.

“I need that power.” He argues to the deer, their judgemental gazes burning his skin. Looking past the buck, he swears he can see his father’s ghost, looking at him with an expression of disappointment on his face. “If it’s not me who eats his heart, someone else will!”

The eyes on him beat down at his resolve. Growling, he moves back to the angel and digs his claws into his chest, blood slowly pooling where sharp claw tips puncture flesh. The angel barely reacts, but there’s a small shift on his face, a tiny expression of pain as his weak breathing hitches. But still, he remains asleep.

Dimitri knows he’s one moment away from obtaining great power, but something holds him back, something he threw away since he started his hunt for revenge. It holds his hand from sinking into the angel’s flesh and getting what’s so close.

It’s as if time freezes in that lonely abandoned house, Dimitri ready to kill the unconscious angel with only the ghost of his childhood dream and a pair of deer keeping him from it. He looks back to the buck one final moment before pulling away from the angel. “This is foolish.” He mumbles under his breath, shoulders’ slumping down as the tension leaves his body.

Five minutes later he exits the abandoned house, soot and dust powdered over his shoulders as he adjusts his hold on the body in his arms. The angel’s wings are crumpled up as Dimitri walks away from the old farm. With the forest looming ahead he turns back, noticing the buck and fawn staring from the front door. For a moment he swears their eyes glow a greenish color, their fur shimmering in the sunlight almost like the scales of a wyvern.

Dimitri turns away but takes one last look back to the house, finding them both gone, as if they were never there to begin with.

* * *

Travelling back through the dense forest is difficult with the angel in his arms, forcing him to be gentle with his movements. Given the angel’s condition and ragged breaths, he knows they’ll need a secure place for him to recover. There’s a nearby mountain a day’s trek away that likely holds deep caves he could take advantage of.

Dimitri finds the angel cumbersome to carry, exuding his own weak energy and scent, forcing Dimitri to activate his crest every few hours to smother his presence with his own. He finds himself already regretting his choice to save him. But there’s another part of him, the younger, kinder part that pushes him to press on. He thought he threw away that side of himself long ago, to think it would still appear even for a beast like him, a remnant still clinging to the hope of a small child.

It takes him almost two days to find a cave secure enough to hide the angel in so he can start properly treating his wounds.

Laying the angel in the far end of the cave, he leaves to collect material for a bed and fire. It’s a much easier task on his own without the angel’s extra weight. Not even two hours pass and he has a well made campfire and two beds of grass and moss made. With that done he moves the angel beside the fire to keep him warm.

Next he checks his bag for anything useful to treat his injuries, which ends up being very little. He’s forced to use some thin sheets as bandages and make a splint for his wings. Given the break it’s pointless but splinting them makes it easier to keep the broken appendages from moving around and getting worse from constantly being jostled.

The first night, Dimitri finds it hard to focus. The silent crackling of the fire is his only company in the cave as the angel’s weak breathing is too quiet to hear over the sound of the flames.

Watching him, Dimitri feels his mind racing, fighting over his choice to ultimately save the angel. It’s only just before he drifts off into a restless slumber that he feels himself come to terms with his choice truly.

The next morning he checks the other’s temperature and starts hunting out herbs he can use to make a crude medicine and salve. Gathering water from the nearby river, he washes his own body off and gathers some to clean off the angel, removing all the ash and blood from his battered body.

A stab wound in the angel’s lower back catches Dimitri’s eye while he cleans him off. If he makes it through his fever, he’ll have to ask how he got it.

As the days pass with the angel still unconscious, Dimitri finds himself starting to grow impatient. The longer he’s stuck here taking care of him, the longer it’ll take for him to get back on Edelgard’s trail. By the fourth day he decides to keep his mind busy by training in the forest, close enough to the cave he’d catch if any demons find their location.

On the fifth day, Dimitri finds that his wounds have started to heal slightly and his fever is finally falling. His breathing is still weak and he’s barely glowing, his energy at a minimum but given his improvement, he should wake any day now.

When he wakes the next morning to a noise on his left, Dimitri finds himself only mildly surprised by what he sees when he opens his eye.

The angel is staring at him from across the warm embers that remain of the fire. His pose indicates an attempt to leave the cave, having yet to realize he’s still too injured to properly move.

Standing up, Dimitri moves to check the cave entrance, deciding to ignore the angel for now. He can feel that his power is starting to return, hopefully not enough to alert anyone else to this location.

“So, do you plan to eat me when I’m awake to make it more painful and entertaining for yourself?” He hears from behind him. The angel’s voice is controlled, as if he’s trying to mask that he’s still weak and fragile.

“No, but I could always change my mind, so don’t give me a reason to.” He warns him, not really wanting to make small talk until he’s sure there’s no immediate risk. The angel goes quiet as he activates his crest at the entrance, covering the area with his power and scent.

When he returns the angel is sitting up, a pained expression on his face as he holds his side.

“Moving wouldn’t be the best idea in your condition.” He scolds him. He almost thinks the angel glares back at him for a split second before it’s replaced with a strained smile.

“Right, right. So, you decided to save me instead of eating my heart? Must be my lucky day to fall down to Fódlan and be found by such a gentledemon.” He winks, his green eyes giving off a false cheerfulness that Dimitri isn’t in the mood of dealing with.

“Save the empty flattery.” He grumbles, throwing a few more pieces of kindling into the fire pit before setting them aflame with a basic fire spell. The angel watches him intently, as if analyzing his predicament. “Yes?”

“Just wondering if my saviour has a name I can refer to him by. Mine’s Claude by the way.” Again he winks at him and Dimitri finds himself wishing he’d not. It reminds him too much of one of his old childhood friends he parted ways with five years ago, he knows false pretenses when he sees it.

He considers not replying for a moment but eventually gives in with the hope Claude won’t ask anything else. “Dimitri.”

“Well Dimitri, Your Demonliness, I believe I owe you thanks for saving my life.” Claude’s smile isn’t fooling him. Instead of calling him out on his overly cheery behaviour, he tsks and walks over to Claude’s side, finding faint entertainment in how Claude tenses up when he checks over his wounds. “Hey, no need to manhandle me like that.”

“You still have a fever and your wounds will reopen if you keep talking.” Dimitri ignores how Claude mentions his current ‘manhandling’ will also reopen his wounds.

It takes a little bit longer then Dimitri would have liked to treat him, as Claude keeps getting defensive when he tries to clean his wounds or examine his splint, constantly pulling away when Dimitri moves to touch his halo or wings. Annoyed, he leaves to hunt them food to help clear his mind.

After he returns with some rabbit, they sit opposite of each other around the fire as the meat cooks. At least angels don’t seem to have anything against eating meat, though Dimitri’s not ready to test if he can handle raw meat. As they eat, Dimitri can feel Claude’s watchful eyes staring at him constantly when he’s not trying to force small talk between them.

He finds the small talk annoying, but he does have his own topic of conversation he wants to address. “Claude, what caused you to fall from heaven?” Claude’s eyes go wide for a moment before he quickly recovers, covering his surprise with a smile.

“Nothing important. Trust me.”

It’s clear he doesn’t trust him and is starting to wonder if this is all just a big waste of his time. Claude plays it like he’s thankful to him, but he’s yet to give him a straight answer without diverting the conversation into a direction of his choice.

Things aren’t better the next day. Claude speaks too casually with him and keeps asking far too many questions about Dimitri’s past and Fódlan without giving him any information in return. Dimitri typically answers the questions with a quick snap or just growls, wishing the angel would focus on healing faster so Dimitri can get back on Edelgard’s trail sooner.

Dimitri eventually resorts to threatening the bedridden angel with harm, shutting him up for a few hours but he finds it eats at his conscience more than he thought it would. Afterwards the air between them is tense, with Claude only responding to Dimitri in simple hums when he treats his wounds and he’s unable to find the right words to apologize for his earlier threats.

Even with the awkward air now between them, Claude’s health continues to steadily improve. His wings remain broken and useless but by the tenth day since his fall, he’s able to sit up and stand for a few minutes. Dimitri, against his better judgement, takes Claude to the river to wash up.

At the water’s edge Dimitri works at hunting a few fish, glancing to the deeper section as Claude floats like a floundering duckling, a rope tied around his waist to keep him from being pulled away by the current attached to the trunk of a large tree. He finds a soft laugh escaping him, slightly shocked he can still make such a sound after throwing everything to become a beast living solely for revenge.

The glare he receives from Claude reminds him that whatever this thing is between them, they’re not friends and his small smile fades into a scowl.

Once they leave the river, Dimitri finds himself taking quick glances at Claude as he carries him back to the cave. His wings are a soft white color, reminding him of the snow that would commonly fall in Fhirdiad. A part of him wonders how soft his feathers are now that they’re cleaned when they arrive. He keeps this thought to himself as he lays Claude down and tells him to continue resting.

The days continue like this, tense and standing on a knife’s edge. Claude is becoming increasingly antsy and Dimitri’s patience is starting to wear thin from staying in one place for so long, training more vigorously in the forest to work out his building frustration. There are moments, he will admit, where he finds himself appreciating the other’s company, but they are few and far between.

On the fourteenth day Dimitri wakes to Claude sitting on his chest with a dagger to his neck, and the thought that this was all a waste of time flashes through his mind yet again.

“I do appreciate what you’ve done to help me, I really do, but I’ll admit I have no interest in whatever you have planned for me. Now I need you to take me to Derdriu.” His green eyes shine in the light of dawn filtering into the cave, a stern expression on his face as his lips pursed together in a thin line, that relaxed smile he used to hide behind abandoned for his dagger to Dimitri’s neck.

Dimitri growls, reacting faster than Claude, who’s recovered enough to move but not well enough to handle split-second changes around him. It only takes a moment and he’s got the fallen angel pinned under him, his broken wings straining in their splint beneath him as he gasps for air from Dimitri’s grip around his neck, his halo the only defense as it strains up Dimitri’s hold. “Don’t try anything.” He hisses at him, applying more force before pulling back.

Claude glares up at him, massaging the bruise forming around his neck. Dimitri kicks away his dagger and grabs the rope, tying Claude’s wrists together as he puts his weight on his stomach. He makes sure the rope is tight as a reminder to the angel to not try that stunt again.

He’s only alive because Dimitri’s letting him live. With Dimitri’s larger build, strength and height at 208 cm to the angel’s 175 cm, there’s nothing Claude can do to overpower him now that he’s given him a reason to always be on guard around him.

“I assure you, tying me up will only encourage me to make your life even more annoying.” Claude spits at him, venom and anger lacing in his voice.

Dimitri huffs, glancing around to find something to do to burn the adrenaline and rage he’s feeling right now. Deciding to hunt for food, he turns back to Claude to make sure none of his wounds reopened in their scuffle. Once he’s satisfied he stands up again. “Keep mouthing off and I might just kill you right now. Derdriu is not of interest to me, we’ll be heading to the west in a few days time.”

“Why are you even keeping me with you? Wait, I know! You’re planning to sell me to another demon!” Claude accuses him, wiggling on the grass bed, grimacing as he pulls at his injured leg.

With a roar, Dimitri stomps beside his head, causing Claude to wince as his head jitters on the rock beneath the makeshift bed. “I keep you because if I let you go another demon will catch you, eat your heart and get that power instead! Now know this, I don’t care about helping you but letting another demon consume your heart doesn’t help me, so I’ll be keeping you with me until I decide what best to do with you! Now silence before I rip your tongue out!” He snarls, fangs gleaming in the rising sun as he flexes his claws.

Claude doesn’t flinch, holding his ground as Dimitri makes his way to the cave entrance. “Dwell on that, I’m going hunting.”

“Fine.” Claude replies, and as Dimitri leaves he hears a faint whimper as he curls in on himself. As he stomps into the forest he hates the feeling of guilt and anger that boils inside him, directed more at himself then the angel. Hopefully he can work out his frustration as he hunts.

After two hours of hunting, Dimitri’s anger has simmered down slightly, though the guilt remains just as strong, that he decides it’s time to check in on Claude. He’s making his way back with two rabbits he killed hanging over his shoulder. “He seems to prefer fish.” He mumbles as he stares at some trout swimming against the rivers current that catch his eye with their shimmering scales in the sunlight. Claude will be easier to deal with if he’s in a better mood and food is the best way to do that.

He keeps telling himself that it is not a form of apology, even though he knows deep down it definitely is one.

Caught in his thoughts, Dimitri doesn’t pick up the smell of the demon invading the area until they’re right on top of him, the sudden presence of their power and smell startling him from internal argument of what is or isn’t an attempt at an apology. Snarling, he turns on his heels, expecting his enemy to come barrelling down on him from the canopy above. But instead there is only silence as they fly past him instead.

“What?” He growls, sniffing the air to see if he can pick up their direction. He can tell they’re not weak nor could they have missed him. Where did they go?

A chill runs down his spine when he picks up Claude’s scent and energy, stronger than he realized. He must have acclimatized to him to the point of not noticing he wasn’t masking his location anymore. Cursing under his breath, he crouches down and breaks into a run. The demon is faster than him up in the air, they’ll arrive before him even at this pace.

Doesn’t matter if they get there first, even with his confusing feelings about this situation with the angel, he will not let Claude be taken from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well our boys are definitely hitting everything off on the wrong foot. Hopefully Dimitri can arrive fast enough to save Claude. Find out, tomorrow. ;3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [Brokokoa](https://twitter.com/Brokokoa) for the amazing piece of art shown in this chapter, here's the [link to it](https://twitter.com/Brokokoa/status/1368679300354936832) on her twitter. There will also be an additional update when [Arslan](https://twitter.com/wavervorer)'s illustration for this chapter is completed.
> 
> cw: minor body horror for broken wings and the removal of said wings

Dimitri barrels through the forest, his claws ripping and tearing through every tree that stands in his way as he takes the fastest route back to the cave. His ears pick up the distant echo of a roar, answering it with his own howl as a warning to the intruder, they are not making it out of this alive.

He picks up the scent of blood as he reaches the mouth of the cave, and there’s a moment of panic that he’s already too late, Claude dead with his heart consumed by another demon because Dimitri left him alone in a fit of rage. Suddenly, a loud crashing rings out from inside followed by cursing, giving him a small bit of hope that Claude’s being as much of a pain for their unwelcome guest as he is for him, buying Dimitri just enough time to save him.

The interloper’s leathery brown wings are folded on their back as they struggle to keep Claude’s tied hands above his head with one hand and silencing him with the other, trying to sink their fangs into his chest in a poor attempt to eat his beating heart as quickly as possible, sharp teeth only succeeding at slicing up Claude’s skin at the top layer. They only pull away when Dimitri steps into the cave, growling at him as Claude starts trying to wiggle away when they let go of him.

“Leave!” The demon snarls at Dimitri, trying to appear more threatening than they are. 

“You’re late!” Claude berates him as glances at him as he continues to shuffle to safety. Dimitri spots a noticeably deep bite on his arm, blood dripping over the rocks. The demon stomps on his back, hissing at him and drawing out a loud cry of pain as they force the air out of his lungs.

“Claude, lay low and just let me handle this.” Dimitri grumbles, annoyed when he hears another pained whimper from Claude before the demon pulls away from him again.

The energy in the cave starts to thicken as the demons begin to size each other up. Dimitri waits for his opponent to make the first move, watching as they internally debate over striking out at him or the angel underfoot. When he sees them start to raise their foot to stomp down harder, he uses that split second paired to dive forward, crashing into their chest and sending them both tumbling deeper into the cave.

Claws ready, Dimitri pins his enemy below him, digging his fingers into their forearms before they kick him off, jumping up onto their feet as Dimitri skids to a stop against the granite with his claws. Wind starts pushing Dimitri away as they begin to beat their wings, snarling and crouching down to grab hold of a blade attached to their belt.

Grunting, he reacts in turn, dragging his sharp claws along the rock, the screeching sound echoing throughout the cavern, and showing off how hard his scales and claws are. He ignores the shuffling sound of Claude moving behind him as he waits in anticipation for his enemy’s next move.

Moments later, the demon roars out, propelling forward with their wings as they brandish their sword, ready to stab into Dimitri’s chest. He lunges in turn, ignoring the blade as it slides over the scales of his shoulder, lightly nicking him as he sinks his claws into the thin membrane of their wings, shredding through them with ease and enjoying their cries of pain as they crash to the ground behind him.

Finally he has the time to check on Claude, cursing when he sees that the angel has barely moved from where he left him, more concerned with using his discarded dagger to slice through the rope around his wrists over moving to a safer spot. The demon, panting in agony, notices too and swipes Dimitri’s legs out from under him with their tail, knocking him on his back while he’s distracted.

“Gah.” He gasps as he hits the ground, but Dimitri can’t afford to get winded here. As he pushes himself back onto his feet, his enemy recovers as well, ready to make a break for both Claude and the cave exit. Growling, he knows he can’t afford to let them escape, even if they make the choice to ignore Claude completely.

Two things happen when both he and the demon make their move. First, the demon unleashes a series of hidden razor thin daggers in every direction, hitting Claude in the thigh and hand, causing him to drop his own dagger as he lets out a cry of pain. Dimitri gets hit in his shoulder, side and legs, grunting but not stopping his forward momentum. Second, even with their surprise attack, Dimitri catches up and passes them to move to their supplies. He grabs at his bag in a split-second movement, taking something small in his hand as he continues moving to Claude’s position.

The demon keeps throwing more daggers, littering the interior of the cave with splatters of blood as Dimitri continues to ignore every cut he sustains. He curses when he sees Claude curl in on himself, using whatever power he can muster to create a protective barrier but he’s still too weak for it to last more than a few seconds before dissipating. As the demon moves to strike down on the helpless angel, he gives one last push intercept. “Get down!”

“Die angel!” With a strong swing, the demon yells as they drive their sword down to stab into Claude’s side. But the blade clashes against metal instead and comes to a halt.

“Not happening.” Dimitri growls, covering Claude with his own body, blood dripping down onto the angel’s injured body as he abandons his attempt at recreating his barrier, taking in heaving breaths as he looks wide-eyed as Dimitri defends him with his own body. The blade shifts against the shaft of the large spear in his hands, the glowing red gem pulsing as the unusual bone blade tip shifts and creaks.

“Areadbhar?!” The demon curses, their expression transforming into fear as they try to pull away, but Dimitri won’t allow it.

“It is too late to regret your choices. Begone!” Dimitri pushes the demon back with Areadbhar, the energy of his crest rushing through him, irradiating behind him as he lunges forward.

Blood splatters over the stone of the cave and Dimitri’s clothes as Areadbhar tears through the demon, their pleas for mercy unheard as bones snap and splinter under the force of Dimitri’s crest fueled and violent strength. The thrill of the kill spurs him further and further, until all that remains of the other demon is the bloody mess of their entrails painting the cave.

“You… you’re stronger than I thought.” Claude mutters behind him, now staring at the mess of blood and gore as Dimitri gives Areadbhar a quick cleaning before he sheaths the spear back into its shell, the small cylinder that he grabbed out of his supplies earlier.

When Dimitri turns to face him, Claude’s green eyes move from the mess of their attacker to him, glancing over the various cuts that litter his body. “Yes?”

“You got hurt protecting me.”

It’s hard to argue such a simple statement. Dimitri did come back to save his life, though he would have done so if they didn’t have their previous argument. Claude is under his protection. “I couldn’t let them obtain your power.”

There’s a small laugh and Dimitri finds a faint frown forming on his face as Claude’s laughter slowly gets louder. Crossly, he waits for him to calm down before he decides to press him on it. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s just, you saved my life. And you decide to play it off like it means nothing. Plus, Your Demonliness, you have a crest!”

“Having a crest doesn’t add anything to this situation.”

“You having a crest means everything when it comes to the matter of what eating my heart can offer you.” Claude finally stops giggling enough to beckon him to come closer, wincing as he rearranges his legs on the ground into a more comfortable sitting position. His scraps and cuts have stopped bleeding, but they’ll need proper treatment or he risks infection.

“How does having a crest change anything when it comes to eating an angel’s heart?” Dimitri’s frown deepens as he sits beside Claude, gently taking his arm to examine the deep bite as Claude continues to stare at him with that odd smile of his.

Claude watches him for a moment before moving his free hand, placing his palm over the wound on Dimitri’s shoulder and a soothing rush of healing magic starts seeping over him as Claude runs his hand over his scales. Before Dimitri can make a comment, he speaks up, “Because having a crest means eating my heart would do nothing for you, as eating an angel’s heart gives the same effect as having a crest to demons and humans, nothing more. Angel’s are warned about those who live below the clouds, we’re all told you’re monsters who wish death upon us.” His calm expression shifts into one of irritation as he continues to speak. “I know it’s stupid to believe things like that, but when I woke up to you stalking about and forcing me to recover, I was afraid. I apologize, I should have been more grateful to my hero, Your Demonliness.” His voice takes on a lighter cadence as he pulls his hand away with a wink, all of Dimitri’s wounds closed and healed.

“But, the rumors said-“ Claude’s fingers come to Dimitri’s lips to silence him, and the strangely familiar action makes something fuzzy fill his gut.

“The rumors also never mention what happens when the demon already has a crest.”

“Then, angels can have crests as well?” Dimitri tries to keep from pouting when Claude finally lets him speak again. Crests are a great unknown when it comes to what causes them to occur and how they differ between demons and humans, so logically, it would make sense for them to occur in angels he supposes. He never thought to consider this at all.

“Crests are old and ancient. From my knowledge, they originate in Zanado from a long time ago, back when there used to be a place also called Zanado in Fódlan itself and angels could walk among demons and humans freely.”

It sounds like Claude is ready to go into a topic far more complicated than Dimitri is willing to deal with at the moment so he sighs, standing up before the angel can continue. “This place isn’t safe anymore. We need to move.”

Claude frowns, glancing around what has been his home for weeks. “Well hate to break it to you, Your Demonliness, but I’m still not well enough to be moving around.”

“You have healing magic.”

“Healing magic doesn’t work on the castor.” Claude shakes his head, shoulders shaking slightly. For a moment Dimitri is concerned it’s from pain but there’s the muffled sound of giggling again and all sympathy he feels is gone in an instant, tail flicking from side to side as he decides to collect all their supplies that were thrown about the cavern instead of putting up with Claude’s laughter again. There’s no point in trying to scavenge anything off the bloody remains of the demon, so he chooses to ignore them as he moves around the cave.

“Your wounds need treating.” He eventually says when he returns to Claude’s side, addressing the new wounds that need to be properly bandaged.

“I’ll need your help with that.” He points out, waiting for Dimitri to rejoin him on the ground again, applying what bandages they have left to his most serious ones. The rest are minor enough they can heal on their own without any help. Unlike before, Claude’s at ease with his touches. The air between them seems to have mellowed out now from before.

“A little tight there.” Claude speaks up, glancing at where Dimitri’s grip on his arm is tighter than need be. “Everything okay there big guy?”

“It’s none of your concern.” He snaps, his temper on edge as his thoughts drift to the time before his family died, and then to Edelgard and the revenge he’s put on hold to take care of Claude.

There’s a sigh and Claude pats his shoulder, causing his body to stiffen slightly at the sudden contact. “I’m not going to ask… yet. But know this; even with all this tender care you’ve been giving me, I’m still not going to be ready for travelling.”

Inconvenient and the truth, and Dimitri can’t afford to carry him everywhere so that’s not an option either. “We can’t stay here. Your power is almost impossible for me to hide behind the energy of my crest anymore.”

There’s another chuckle and Dimitri feels his temper threatening to explode. “Did you not hear me? I cannot keep other demons from finding you here!”

“If you needed my help with this, you could have just asked.” Claude winks, sticking out his tongue as he stands on shaky legs much to Dimitri’s surprise, taking a few steps before sitting directly in Dimitri’s lap.

“Claude! What?” He cannot hide how his voice stutters as he tries to hide his own embarrassment at Claude’s bold action.

“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.” There’s no way sitting in his lap could help their situation, but slowly, Dimitri notices Claude’s energy, scent and glow are slowly dissipating until all of it vanishes completely.

Shocked, he turns the angel around in his lap, gripping his shoulders. “How?”

Smugly, Claude grabs his wrists and leans in close. “There’s a lot you don’t know about angels. I can mask myself simply by making my energy and scent mimic yours.”

“That makes no sense. And why did you mention this before?”

There’s a flash of hesitation on Claude’s face which quickly fades into a lopsided smile, trying to hide the grimace as Dimitri’s grip tightens too much. Exhaustion soon seeps over Claude’s body as he leans backwards as Dimitri releases his wrists and places his hands on the floor behind him to hold himself up. “See, masking my energy to appear like yours, it’s hard to maintain unless I stick with you as long as I need to do it. And once I start mimicking your energy, I can’t change who I mimic, so I’m stuck with you now as a result. It’s not an easy decision to make.”

Dimitri understands what he’s hinting at. Its safety, Claude didn’t feel safe enough around Dimitri before to even consider attempting it. So either now he does feel safe enough around him or he no longer has a choice after the earlier attack. “That means-“

“I’m trusting you with my safety from now on, and it also means you’re stuck with me.” Claude leans back in, too close for comfort so Dimitri starts leaning away in response.

“And sitting in my lap?” Dimitri feels like this whole situation is slowly spiraling out of his control.

“To mimic your power and scent I need to be in close proximity to you, and sitting in your lap or physical contact in general is the easiest method.” His smile unnerves him before he lets out a laugh and tries to stand back up, only for his legs to buckle. “Eep!”

Dimitri offers him his shoulder to steady his sore body. “Then if we’re not leaving and it’s safe for you to rest, that’s what you should focus on.” There’s a groan of protest from Claude as he sits back down on his lap and presses his forehead into Dimitri’s forearm. The relaxed behaviour draws a small, hidden smile from him as he moves to lean him against the cave wall. “Rest here while I get the fire going again.”

Over the next hour he repairs their grass beddings and campfire, glancing over every once in a while to check up on Claude, who’s fallen asleep with a grimace on his face due to how uncomfortable the wall is. Once he’s done, Dimitri moves Claude back to lay on the softer surface. He continues to sleep with a slight fever he developed from overexertion.

Stepping back, he finds himself amazed that even focusing all Dimitri can feel coming from Claude is his own energy. With this, it should be safe for him to gather food and water without worrying about Claude being attacked again. With a quick check of the parameter, Dimitri leaves to gather what supplies they’ll need for the next few days.

* * *

For the next week, Claude recovers at a steady rate and Dimitri finds he can start planning out their next course of action. After constant needling from Claude, he’s agreed to take them in the direction of Derdriu in the south, but he also states that if he finds a lead on Edelgard that goes in another direction, Claude has no say in them changing course.

Surprisingly, Claude agrees to this, though he does point out he has little choice in the matter given needing to stick with Dimitri now to stay safe. It brings up a complicated feeling for him. Claude’s company has been more tolerable over the past week then he thought possible but the knowledge that he accompanies him because he has no choice brings up a feeling of dislike Dimitri would rather not have.

“Ready?” Dimitri asks as he stands at the cave entrance, his bag slung over his shoulder while he watches Claude walk around on the grass outside, adjusting the makeshift holder he’s made using woven vines to hold his broken wings flush against his back. The appendages hang lifelessly from him when not tied up, dragging on the ground and catching on the undergrowth.

Claude ignores him, taking a few laps before smiling to himself. Finally, he turns to face Dimitri. “Ready and willing, but feels like it’s going to be cold soon too.”

Dimitri eyes his bare feet and sighs. “Don’t linger behind and keep bundled up, even in the summer Faerghus can be quite cold.” He advises him before making his way into the thicker trees, Claude following closely behind.

Given his complaining, angels aren’t accustomed to the cold and Claude enjoys reminding Dimitri of this constantly as they travel through the trees.

It takes them a day and a half of travel to the outskirts of the closest village. Given how much Claude stands out with his wings, even when tied up and his halo covered with some bandages, Dimitri realizes he can’t risk being seen for now.

“Stay hidden.” Dimitri says after explaining the risk to him. He doesn’t like that he has to leave Claude behind but he needs to go into the village to gather information and pick up more supplies, including proper clothing for Claude. He pouts, a curiosity wanting to be satisfied glowing behind his green eyes as his body glows for a moment but he understands the necessity for this, nodding and reminding Dimitri to be fast before he heads back into the trees to hide, his glow disappearing to nothing.

It only takes Dimitri thirty minutes once he finds a merchant to buy food and supplies. He moves onto another merchant to buy boots for Claude and to see if they have any information pertaining to the Flame Emperor.

“Never heard anything about them as of recent, though rumor has it they’ve been spotted in the direction of the Alliance lands.” The demon merchant says with a smile on her face before taking a sip from her mug. “I can hook you up with someone in a village a few weeks from here to see if they hear anything by the time you arrive. Interested?”

“Fine.” Dimitri sighs, knowing when he’s been giving an offer he can’t afford to refuse. He adds a few more gold pieces to the amount he’s given her for the warm boots Claude needs. As she happily counts her earnings, her red hair flowing over her shoulder as her body sways from side to side, he glances at her wares while he waits. Fabrics, jewels, and clothing from all over Fódlan are set up to attract the eyes of passing customers. He’d only looked at the shoes beforehand, taking in the rest now. A scarf, light and the color of golden dew trapped in an evergreen shade catches his eye.

“Like that? I can sell it to you for another gold piece.” He can hear the smile on her face. He quickly drops the gold and takes the scarf in a huff. “Pleasure doing business with ya!”

As he walks away from the merchant, scarf in hand, he wonders why he even bought it. The material is too light to provide additional warmth like the boots Claude needs for travelling. It’s only when he’s back in the forest and Claude hops out from his hiding place that he realizes. The gold resembles his halo and the green the color of his eyes.

“Oh? That’s a little fancier then what I remember you saying we needed and not something I would peg you for wearing.” Claude’s grinning at him as he points out the scarf he’s holding.

“Here,” Dimitri holds out the scarf to him, letting him take the bundle of fabric and look it over before he hands the boots over as well. “Wear it around your neck, it’ll hide your halo and the boots will keep your feet safe while we travel. And from what I learned the person I’m after has been spotted in the Alliance so we’ll be continuing south for now.”

“Derdriu is the capital of the Alliance so that works in my favor too.” Claude says as he wraps the scarf around his neck, adjusting it until he’s satisfied with his appearance. It covers up his halo without looking suspicious. “Why’d you pick this particular scarf?”

“Does it matter?”

“I want to know the inner workings of your mind to figure out why this specific scarf appealed to you.” Claude winks cheekily, sticking out his tongue before he moves to put on the boots. He scrunches up his nose as he struggles to tie the laces. “Are you sure I need these? They were never necessary in Zanado.” He complains to Dimitri as he finishes and Dimitri doesn’t feel like giving him an answer, instead sighing again. “Does this look fine?” Claude asks him, striking a small pose.

Dimitri stares for a moment, trying to think of a reply that isn’t _beautiful_. The awkward silence hangs between them, Claude looking at him expectantly with a knowing smirk on his face before Dimitri eventually snaps out of his trance and replies “Acceptable.”

Claude’s eyes widen for a moment before a chuckle starts to bubble in his throat and he leans inward, holding his sides as the sound of his giggling fills the area. Dimitri can’t look away, feeling a faint heat building up over his cheeks. Quickly he turns away, grabbing their supplies.

“Come, we’re losing time by standing here doing nothing.” He mutters to the laughing angel, holding his bag up to him, waiting patiently for him to stop, and hoping it’ll happen soon.

The angel’s giggles subside after a few more minutes before he gives him an apology that seems earnest apart from the wide grin on his face. Dimitri rolls his eye as Claude takes his bag, hoping he misses him taking in his smile as he slings the sack over his shoulder, humming to himself. Dimitri’s not used to how Claude’s smile seems to always disarm yet warm him at the same time so easily. It’s strange but he doesn’t dislike it.

“So are we going or not?” Dimitri startles when he notices Claude staring right back at him, the smile on his face welcoming and relaxed.

“Ah, yes.”

They move back into the forest, Claude walking a few steps ahead of him. He finds his thoughts are unfocused, drifting from his goal of finding Edelgard to Claude’s smile from earlier, to how it warms his chest and face, making him feel happy. He’s never had to deal with such a reaction in the past. Even before he lost his family and swore to get their revenge, his friends and family filled him with a different kind of warmth. Not like this, not like how Claude makes him feel.

He’s so caught up in trying to put a name on his growing feelings that he fails to notice Claude stop in front of him trying to figure out which direction they should continue in. It’s only when he walks into his back that he realizes he’s not paying attention to what Claude’s been saying to him. As he takes a few steps back he watches as Claude pushes himself away from the tree he’d been shoved up against.

“A little out of it Your Demonliness?” Claude asks him, brushing some stray pieces of bark off his shirt.

“It’s… nothing.” Dimitri mutters, glancing down to where he spots some stray feathers littered across the ground. Looking to Claude’s back, the vines holding his broken wings are fraying already, and one wing is now hanging close to the ground. “We should stop and fix the vines.” He mentions, thankful he didn’t accidentally step on the dangling wing.

Claude sighs, lifting the broken limb after he takes a seat on a tree stump, removing some twigs from it. “Can you help me with the rope while I fix the feathers up a little?”

“Of course.”

Silently they work in tandem, Claude removing leaves and twigs from his wings as Dimitri makes a new vine rope to hold them up. After re-applying the rope with additional padding from a worn-out blanket, they continue walking through the lush forest towards the Alliance and hopefully, Edelgard.

* * *

After a few weeks of trekking through thick brush, fields of tall grass and wading over rivers, Dimitri’s expecting it when Claude asks to stop beside the river they just finished waded through to attend to his wings. No matter how many times they try to keep them contained, they constantly end up with one or both dragging along the ground behind him. Currently both broke through their last rope attempt, covered in mucky water from dragging through the rivers current, his once white wings now bare a more noticeable brown color to them from the mud, weighing them down.

Giving the angel some privacy as he works, Dimitri starts making a fire on the other side of the large tree Claude is sitting under, having already checked the area for any possible demons or humans nearby. When the fire is strong enough to sustain itself on the kindling and brush he’s fed it, he moves upriver to fish up something to eat.

By the time Claude rejoins him by the fire, Dimitri’s already grilled up the angel’s share of fish as he works at eating his own raw fish. After he stopped being able to taste the food he ate, he found it a waste of time working to cook meat when he can handle it raw. An added benefit is he’s got more time to keep watch as he finishes his meals faster.

“Dimitri, I need your help with something.” Claude speaks up as he finishes the second of his grilled trout.

“With what?” Dimitri glances over as he moves to sit closer to him; his wings clean of most of the mud now, looking closer to their original white color again.

“I need you to help me cut my wings off.”

Dimitri stares at Claude with his mouth gaping open as he removes his shirt, placing it near the fire as Dimitri tries to make sure he’s heard him properly. “Cut off, your wings?” He repeats, needing confirmation that’s what he indeed heard.

“Yes.”

“Why?” Dimitri whispers, as if he doesn’t already know why. There is no denying that Claude’s wings have been slowing them down. They keep breaking every rope they try to use to tie them up with, and each time they end up dragging on the ground, they slow Claude down even further. And even when they’re tied up, they can’t be hidden, so Claude’s always stuck laying low whenever they happen upon strangers.

Claude rolls his eyes, pulling his dagger out of its sheath at his side. “You know why. I’m holding us back and we both know there’s no saving my wings after this long.”

“Are you-“

“Sure? Yes I am. And I’ve been thinking of doing this for a while. I’ve come to terms with my choice already. I just need you to help me cut them off; I can’t reach them well enough to make the close cut enough.” Claude’s giving off an air of determination and composure as he speaks. There’s no room for Dimitri to even attempt to change his mind.

Dimitri frowns as he reluctantly takes the weapon from him, handling it gingerly in his grip as the angel turns his back to him, his broken wings hanging limply behind him. There are still some small twigs poking out of the white feathers, lightly dusted in a small layer of dirt. His feathers have thinned out incredibly already; many of them have already fallen out, so even if a miracle happened, they would no longer be strong enough to fly with.

It hits him suddenly why the thought of Claude removing them bothers him so much. Claude’s wings are a part of him, even if he’s never been able to use them since they’ve met. They’re a part of what makes him an angel. His halo and power can be hidden and he can stop the glow of his body, but his wings are always there. He’s willing to cut off a part of himself that holds him back, but for Dimitri, he’s not sure he could do the same.

“Dimitri, the longer you stall the longer it’ll take for us to get back on the road.” Claude reminds him, leaving unsaid that the longer it’ll take to find Edelgard the more he stalls.

“I know.” He replies, conceding and taking a hold of his left wing. It feels brittle and swollen in his hand as he moves to get a secure grip. The infected tissue feels horrid yet Claude doesn’t flinch at all. He really has lost all feeling in them.

He positions the blade a centimeters away from where the wing grows out of Claude’s back. “How close do you want the cut to be?” The position he’s currently holding it at feels both too close and too far to him.

“The closer you cut it, the easier it’ll be to heal and hide so the closer the better.” Claude assures him, shivering at the sudden contact from Dimitri’s hand on his skin.

“Alright, I’ll cut as close as I can then.” Dimitri takes a deep breath before he starts pushing the dagger into bone. Claude barely reacts as the blade sinks into his wing, blood starting to seep out, close enough to his back that there is likely still some form of feeling present. It takes only a few minutes before the wing falls to the ground. Quickly Dimitri bandages up the bone sticking out before it can bleed further.

“One down.” Claude comments, voice firm but Dimitri doesn’t miss how his body has a slight tremble to it now. “Best to get the next done fast so we can properly treat your wounds.”

Replying with a small hum, Dimitri finds himself not wanting to delay this any further either. He does the same motions on the remaining wing, quickly bandaging it when he’s done. The other bandage has already turned red from the bleeding as Claude turns around to face him.

“Done?” He asks, looking at Dimitri with concern even though he’s the one who deserves his concern.

“Yes.”

“Good.” Is all the angel says before he moves to inspect what remains of his broken wings as they lay on the ground. “Can you hand me some of our healing concoctions? Those should help to stop the bleeding for proper bandaging.”

“Of course.” Dimitri answers as he passes Claude a few jars of concoction, noticing how he plucks a few feathers that are still undamaged from his wings. “Claude, are you sure you’re feeling okay to travel?”

“I’m feeling fine. And I don’t want to stick around much longer, I’m personally sick of waiting around to heal.” He replies as he packs the feathers away in his bag. “Can you throw these in the river after replacing the bandages? That way no one will be able to track us with them. Plus, the rapids downstream should be able to destroy them enough to make recognizing them nearly impossible.”

Dimitri finds himself reeling at how fast Claude is thinking ahead, wishing he could tell if he is putting up a front to hide what he’s really feeling about all this. But he won’t deny Claude’s right, so instead of pressing him, he works to put on a fresh dressing of salve, slowing down whenever Claude shivers or flinches, mumbling about how cold his fingers are or that the salve stings. 

When he tosses the wings into the river, he can’t stop himself from plucking a few feathers for himself. On the walk back to the fire, he finds himself feeling a little ashamed at taking them and goes to inform Claude.

“Something for you to forever remember me by?” Claude asks him with a mischievous wink smile. He doesn’t seem to disapprove of this action at least.

Dimitri sighs, gently putting the feathers away in his bag. “It felt like a…waste.”

He almost misses the way Claude’s eyes widen at his statement before he turns away, and if he’s not mistaken, it looks like the tips of his ears are tinting a little darker now.

“Ah, w-well it is a bit of a waste.” Claude says before he starts eating into his third fish. “Ah.” He flinches suddenly, rubbing at his back and the dressing, his shirt still sitting on the ground.

“Let me check.” Dimitri moves to glance over his back, noting that there are only a few new specs of blood that look to have already dried. “Does it sting? It looks like the wound has closed now.”

“Yeah, just stings a bit more painfully than I expected.” Claude groans, leaning into Dimitri’s arm when he moves to sit beside him. “I’ll try to keep my whining to a minimum when we’re back on the road.” He teases playfully.

Suppressing a small chuckle, Dimitri simply shakes his head “Noted.” It won’t be anything worse than his previous bemoaning, he’s sure.

Once Claude finishes with his trout, he moves slowly to put his shirt back on with Dimitri’s help. With the final touch of his scarf, he sighs, happy to be warm again.

“Do you want to rest before we leave?”

“No, I’ll be fine.” Stretching beside him, Claude tries to throw his bag over his shoulder before dropping it instead, grumbling at the bundle of fabric containing his things. Looking up to Dimitri with what he’s declared as _Claude’s-puppy-dog-eyes_ , he simply sighs, picking up the pack and throwing it over his other shoulder. “Okay so I’ll need to keep things off my back, but I’m well enough to walk.”

The way his cheeks puff up are adorable, but Dimitri decides that’s best kept to himself. “Then let’s be on our way.”

“Yes, let’s be off.” Claude grins, looping their arms together as they start off into the forest again, causing Dimitri’s face to heat up from the close contact, but he finds himself not wanting to pull away. It’s awkward travel but they don’t separate until the pathways get too thin for them to walk side-by-side.

* * *

When they finally come across another town, Claude is giddy to finally join Dimitri in gathering information and supplies. While he had an initial worry over how well Claude can handle strangers, that’s proven unnecessary after watching Claude convince the innkeeper into letting them have a room for cheap. It was amazing, watching Claude easily talk others into giving him what he wants.

So it became a regular thing for them to handle different tasks in each village after that as they abandoned wading through the forests to take on more easily travelled roads.

“My my, your friend is very savvy with his haggling.” Anna, another merchant demon claiming to be the sister of the last demon he met named Anna, laughs as she takes the gold from Dimitri in exchange for their new supplies. There are a few additional purchases of Dimitri’s own choosing, including a new scarf for Claude that he’s currently wearing. Claude even picked out an item for him, a blue cloak with wolf fur around the collar. Wearing it feels awkward, but Claude insisted that it suits him.

“Are you sure you’re not the same Anna from before?” He asks again as she counts out the gold, humming a little tune to herself.

“Positive, never met you before, though I’ve been told me and my sisters look alike. But I’d be happy to see you both again in the future, you pay a pretty good amount of gold and your friend is a great conversation partner.” She motions over to where Claude is talking up a mercenary who’s in the mood to boast about their most recent mission.

Dimitri stifles a growl that builds in the back of his throat, glaring at the man as Claude plays him like a fiddle, smiling at him in a way that looks relaxed, but Dimitri knows he’s not relaxed at all and will remain jumpy until they’re back on the road by themselves, using the cover to get as much information as possible out of this. He’s still not fond of how close Claude lets people get to him when making them drop their guard.

“The possessive type? Maybe I should offer you a collar for him, I’m sure it’d look good on him.” Anna smirks, laughing when Dimitri’s glare turns to her. “Don’t worry about him, he knows what he’s doing. I can tell, he’s the type who has every exit already scouted before he even starts taking risks.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“Mmm, how about a word of warning then. Think of it as a freebie.” Anna’s friendly smile fades, her lips pursed together. “Try to stay clear of stronger demons, he might be able to mask himself thanks to you, but strong demons and large groups will notice something’s off if you stick around too long. And most aren’t charitable like me and my sisters. Know that we’re a safe harbour for information.”

He stares at her, mouth gaping in shock. Before he can ask her how she figured it out and what she means, Claude waves him over. Anna shoos him away and thanks them both for their business, handing him a letter without warning.

Claude looks worried when he joins him, staring down at the letter. “Dimitri?”

“Anna knows about you and gave me a warning about large demon groups. We should heed what she said.” Claude nods in agreement, leaning in close to him as he turns the letter over, glancing at the green wax seal with a dragon head in the middle.

“A letter?”

“I don’t know.” Dimitri frowns, finding he can’t remove the seal or force it open.

“Why give us a letter we can’t open?” Claude asks, taking it and looking it over. “She has sisters right? We should ask them if we run into them again. Anyways, I got the info I wanted already. If sticking around too long is a risk we should head off then.”

“Agreed.” Dimitri lets Claude pack the letter away in his bag before they head out of town, continuing on the road to the Alliance border.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've made it past the enemies hurdle into friends.
> 
> A weird consistent thing I do in most of my fics is inserting Anna whenever I can.


End file.
